More outstanding bonsai from the 2014 Taikan-ten

Yes, there are more outstanding trees to share from the 2014 Taikan-ten:

Black pine – 2014 Sakufu prize winner

Japanese maple – 2014 Kokufu prize winner

All photos are courtesy Boon Manakitivipart. Boon regularly visits Japan in fall to work on a private bonsai collection. We’re fortunate that this year’s visit included a trip to Taikan-ten.

Euonymus alatus

Japanese maple ‘shishigashira’

Shimpaku

Check out the play between live and dead wood along the trunks of the next few trees. Good movement and interesting lifelines can make compelling bonsai.

Shimpaku

Needle juniper

Needle juniper

Depending on the needle size, white pines are often shown fairly full – especially the varieties with smaller-leaves like zuisho. The small sized white pines below, each a different sub-variety, are impressively dense.

White pine

White pine – ‘Zuisho’

White pine – ‘Myojo’

Black pine

Trident maple

Japanese maple

Satsuki azalea

Shimpaku

Black pine

Needle juniper

Gardenia – with a single fruit